A World Of Blades
by Solar0110
Summary: My first fanfiction. Basically follows the canon but has a couple changes. Goes through the entire game, not skipping floors 2-74. Work In Progress.
1. Prologue

Aincraid - A giant castle of steel and concrete, floating in an endless sky. Spanning about 10km in diameter and comprising of 100 floors stacked upon each other, to even estimate the size of this construction was impossible, the data that it was made from even more so.

This was in a game, the first fully virtual world ever created. It had been greeted with thunderous reception and was going to become the best game for a long, long time. The rules of the game were simple - to not die and clear all 100 floors.

But this was the game where if you died in-game, you died in real life.

This was «Sword Art Online»


	2. A World of Blades

Chapter 1 – A World of Blades

# Note: _Italics = Thoughts_

**_I DO NOT OWN SAO. I ONLY OWN THIS WRITING, WHICH IS BASED OFF IT. (ALTHOUGH I WISH I DID OWN IT)_**

[Order: Klein, Kirito]

"Sorry. I can't really expect you to help me with anything else can I? Go on to the next village, we'll catch up with you."

"Alright, then let's say goodbye here. If anything happens, PM me."

"Will do."

"Ok. Goodbye, Klein."

"Hey, Kirito. You know what?"

"Hm?"

"You actually turned out to be pretty cute. Just my type."

"Heh. And that unkempt face of yours suits you ten times better!"

xXxXxXxXx

\ (Narrator POV)

Running swiftly to the weapon's shop he quickly bought two spare swords and a couple health potions before running to the Northern edge of town. After charging the "Red Boar" there and grinding for a good ten minutes or so Kirito checked his stats and his weapon durability.

[Lv. 1 (93%) ]

[Small Sword (34/150) ]

[One-Handed Straight Sword (Lv. 3) ]

xXxXxXxXx

Just as Kirito was going to start grinding again for level two he remembered that on the first floor there was an incredibly dangerous dungeon that could only be entered by Lv. 1 players. However, if one could clear the dungeon they were pretty much guaranteed Lv. 5. Deciding to take the risk Kirito quickly sprinted back to town, avoiding boars to avoid leveling up. Once at town he immediately started to upgrade his spare sword with the "Red Boar" drops to +2. Getting to the dungeon in the «West Forest» and still avoiding battle turned out to be a mundane task, taking 25 minutes instead of the predicted 10, changing the time setting to "Night", which gives all cave-dwelling mobs a 20% speed boost, 10% damage boost, a 40% Exp. drop boost and increasing the chance for crimson class items by 0.2%. Taking a deep (and unnecessary) breath he entered the dungeon, unenhanced sword in hand.

xXxXxXxXx

As he entered the dungeon the doors immediately swung shut behind him. Since teleport crystals weren't ready yet he was, effectively, trapped. Sighing, he ran forward into the first part of the dungeon – a maze littered with traps. Thanks to his knowledge from the beta though, Kirito was able to avoid all the traps, find a chest with 500 Col and 2 health potions and get to the second part of the dungeon, containing mobs.

The path ahead was clear now, leading to a small, lit room with a statue in the center. From memory, Kirito knew that this was actually a Lv. 2 mob with high defense but low agility. Wasting no time Kirito charged up and used the basic sword skill «Horizontal», slashing the statue in the chest. With the statue now effectively woken up he attacked the statue with multiple slashes, not risking the use of more sword skills. As the statue went on the offensive and performed a downward slash towards Kirito he dodged, stepping towards it, activating the «Slant» sword skill and performing a diagonal cut into the statue's head, bringing its HP down to the red zone, causing it to divide into 3. This caught Kirito off guard and caused him to get hit by one of their stone swords, which thankfully had a knockback effect. (Otherwise he would have died.) Gritting his teeth, Kirito ignored the pain coming from his new injury and stabbed at the closest statue, which shattered into a multitude of polygons. Turning his attention to the second statue, he only had enough time to parry the stone weapon. Swinging the weapon away, he quickly activated the «Snake Bite» skill, slashing to the left and right so fast the system registered it as one strike. As the second statue exploded, the final statue was already attacking. Parrying this strike, Kirito batted it away. Then, the worst possible thing happened – his sword broke. In shock, Kirito did not see the next blow coming from the statue, who's health was in the red. The blow hit him squarely in the chest, creating a large red gash and bringing his HP to yellow, borderline red. In extreme pain and weaponless against the monster, Kirito did the only thing he thought was feasible at the time – he punched it. The punch carried his momentum from standing up and the uppercut forced the statue's HP to but a sliver, staying alive by pure chance. Adrenaline coursing through his body, Kirito charged, punching the statue in the face before it could recover, causing it to shatter into a multitude of polygons. Dropping to the ground, exhausted, Kirito took out a health potion and began to drink, bringing his health back to full. As he did this, three windows popped up. His battle window, which presented his winnings – 2500 Col and 2 "Stone Shards", a Level Up! notice and a "Challenge Complete!" window, which read:

[Challenge – Unbreakable]

(Defeat a mob with twice or more your defense when unarmed)

[Reward(s): 150Exp 150 Col x1 Cat Claws]

Grinning, he opened up his menu and equipped his spare unenhanced sword and the claws he had just received, revealing three metal claws protruding out of a gauntlet. After adjusting his stats, Kirito closed his menu and stood up, walking into the labyrinth's depths.

xXxXxXxXx

As he went further and further into the labyrinth, mob after mob fell to his might. He leveled up once and soon, he reached the end of the dungeon, where the mini-boss resided. Opening up his menu once more, he checked his equipment's stats.

[Small Sword 80/150 ]

[Cat Claws 123/175 ]

His armor was still in good condition but as he went to check his HP, he certainly wasn't. So, instead of using one of his precious potions he sat down, waiting for his health to replenish. As Kirito sat he looked at the "Cat Claw" equipped onto his left hand. He liked having it, since it helped the sword last a bit longer and gave him some more damage, but would have preferred having a second sword instead, since it was more versatile. After checking that his HP was at 100%, he equipped his enhanced sword and entered the boss room.

The room was massive, with a dark theme that sent shivers up your spine. As Kirito neared the center of the room he saw a cursor out of the corner of his eye, to his right. Jumping back, he narrowly dodged a claw dripping with a green liquid. The boss now moved into the eerie light, shrieking, showing off two impressive health bars and boasting a Lv. 7, was called "Tsuchigomo". As the doors closed behind him Kirito felt a seed of fear in his stomach, realizing that the only way out was to solo the boss, which was a spider, at night.

"_I am soooo screwed."_

xXxXxXxXx

-45 minutes later-

"Ugh…"

Kirito panted heavily as he crouched on the floor, one knee raised. He had just gone through what he now recognized as one of the hardest fights in his MMO career and was almost dead because of it, at a meager 3% of his full health. (Kirito started this fight at Lv. 3.) There was a point in the battle where he almost died due to the night's poison damage buff and if he had taken one more hit, he would definitely have died.

Still breathing heavily, Kirito stood up to open his menu and check his winnings properly.

[Congratulations!]

[Level Up! (3 – 7)]

[Rewards: 6000 Col 15,000Exp ]

x1 Poisonous Fangs x1 Poison Blade ]

Checking the stats on his new weapon, he was surprised to find that the "Poison Blade" had stats that exceeded the "Anneal Blade", making it a weapon he could use all the way to at least the 6th Floor.

[Poison Blade +0 – Purple]

[Type: One Handed Longsword ]

[Range: Short ]

[Type: Slash ]

[Attack: 110 – 200 ]

[Durability: 220/220 ]

[Weight: 10 ]

[Requirements: Lv. 5 ]

[Equip: +10 Strength +5 Dexterity ]

10%Exp boost when training a poison skill ]

_Increases poison damage by 5% _]

_Special – Inflicts Lv.1 Poison _]

After finishing cackling with glee at his new weapon, Kirito walked through the dungeon exit to the surface of the «Northern Plains».


	3. New Meetings

Chapter 2 – New Meetings

# Note: _Italics = Thoughts_

_**_I DO NOT OWN SAO. I ONLY OWN THIS WRITING, WHICH IS BASED OFF IT. (ALTHOUGH I WISH I DID OWN IT)_**_

Exiting the dungeon, Kirito was briefly blinded by the sudden light. Giving his eyes time to adjust, he stood still for a moment, checking the time in the top-right of his vision. Seeing that it was 11am, he realized he had just pulled an all-nighter. Tired and only wanting to go back to town and sleep, he walked, walking back to town. Alas, fate is a fickle creature.

xXxXxXxXx

Walking towards town, he saw a cloaked player farming off some «Bin Wolves» with some difficulty. Intrigued, Kirito walked closer to get a better look, but otherwise stayed out of sight. Upon closer inspection, the player was using a rapier and almost literally spamming the «Linear» skill. Wave after wave of wolves fell, but soon he was surrounded. The wolves jumped, howling for blood, to which one succeeded. Three wolves had perished, but the wolf behind the player had gotten lucky, knocking him back. Getting ready to help, Kirito stood up, while in the same time, the wolf jumped at the player.

"So this is it…what a disappointing way to die."

Activating a «Vertical» skill, Kirito jumped towards the wolf from his hiding spot and slashed at the mob, slicing it in half and killing it instantly.

[Order: Kirito, Player]

"You okay? Got a bit unlucky there but otherwise you're pretty good. Near the end though you should have went for some normal attacks instead of «Linear» though."

"Why does it matter?"

"Eh?"

"Why does it matter? I killed it."

"Ah…well using a sword skill takes focus and has the post-motion effect which makes you vulnerable so…"

"It doesn't matter. If it's dead it's dead."

"I disagree, but something came to mind just then. What level are you?"

"Level 5."

"The hell? How long have you been out here? You should be able to kill the wolves with just one «Linear»!"

"I think…since last night, maybe?"

"Hold up a minute for me. You say you've been here since last night."

"Mhm."

"And you're Lv. 5."

"Mhm."

"Ok, level with me. Do you know how to distribute your stat points correctly?"

"Stat…points…?"

"Is this your first MMO?"

"Mhm."

"Oh god…"

"What's wrong?"

"Ugh…just come with me. I gotta explain some stuff to you."

"What sort of stuff?"

"MMO stuff, since you clearly don't know what you're doing."

"Hey! I survived all night didn't I?"

"You did, but mostly from luck. Just come already ok?"

"…Fine."

XxXxXxXx

\Narrator POV (Includes Speech [Order: Kirito, Player])

-Back at town-

"If you don't mind, we're gonna go to my house. It's the second floor of an NPC's place but you get an unlimited supply of milk there. There's also a bath, but nobody really uses it…"

Kirito trailed off, turning around to face the still cloaked player. He was going to speak again, but the aura of death that surrounded the player scared him. And probably the odd passersby too.

"What. Did. You. Say?"

"Uh…house?"

"Not that one."

"Milk?"

"Not that one."

"So…the bath?"

"Alright. I am going to ask this once and only once so do not make me repeat myself. Where. Is. The. House."

"Just a bit further ahe…"

Trailing off, Kirito sighed, seeing the cloaked figure zooming to the aforementioned direction. Deciding that he might be in a lot of trouble if he kept the player waiting, he sighed once, once more, and then took off at a run to his house."

XxXxXxXx

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"What took you so long? Hurry up and show me where the bath is!"

Seeing the excitement quite literally bursting off the player, Kirito hurriedly opened the door to the second floor. As he reached the top of the steps, he turned around. Using his hands, he pointed at one direction, then another.

"Bath is over there. I'll be in the room over there ok? Take as long as you like."

After making sure the player went to the right room, Kirito walked into the living room, which thankfully had a couch. Wasting no time, Kirito plopped down onto the couch and promptly fell asleep.

XxXxXxXx

By the time Kirito woke up, it was already late in the evening. Sitting up to stretch his arms, the player from before entered his field of vision, sporting an annoyed frown. Sheepishly, Kirito stood up and walked over to the player, only to sit down again, though this time in a chair next to him.

"Sorry about falling asleep there. Did you have a good bath?"

"The bath was fine._ (Loved it.)_ Now are you going to explain to me what you were going to say before you fell asleep or not?"

"Ah, right, right, sorry. Anyways, I was going to say that in this game, you have four stats. Now, open up your menu. Yep, now press the "Customize" button in the bottom left and then click "Character Stats". Now, you see the four stats right?

"Mhm."

"Each point in strength increases your attack damage, each point in dexterity increases your critical strike chance and makes it easier to aim throwing weapons, each point in agility increases your general movement speed and reaction time and each point in vitality increases your defenses and HP. Did you get all that?"

"I think so. Continue?"

"Alright. So, when you level up you gain 4 stat points that you can allocate to your four stats. Since you use a rapier, which focuses on speed, put 2 points in agility, 1 point in dexterity and the last in vitality. For now, since you're Lv.5 just put 10 in agility, 5 in dexterity and 5 in vitality."

"Alright."

"Now press the confirm button at the bottom and you're done."

"Alright, thank you for helping."

"No problem. Did you want to talk about anything?"

"No."

"Well in that case, why don't we have dinner? I'm starving and from the looks of things, so are you."

"I'm not hun…"

Right at that moment, the player's stomach emitted a large growl, causing Kirito to laugh and the player to blush.

"I think your stomach disagrees. C'mon, let's get something to eat."

"Fine. Just this once."

Going downstairs and out of the house, the two head back to the town. When they get there, they decide to go for a meal at the inn. As they entered, a NPC waitress greeted them and asked for their orders, to which Kirito asked for a potato dish while the player, still cloaked, asked for a mashed potato dish. When they were given their food, Kirito found that he had also been given mashed potatoes. The cloaked player noticed this as well and turned slightly away. Both players then started to eat. Over the course of the meal, a few questions raced through his head, which he eventually voiced.

"Hey, I've been wondering."

"So I see."

"Are you a guy or a girl?"

"That's seriously the question you've had in your head?"

"Yep."

"For your information, I'm a girl."

"Well. Did not know that."

"Evidently."

"…Are you always this moody or are you…"

"If you finish that sentence I will stab this knife into your throat and kill you. Slowly and painfully."

"You wouldn't dare. Right?"

"Really?"

Kirito was scared. Very, very scared. He was trembling in his boots and shaking in his seat. The dark aura that the newly discovered girl had about her showed Kirito that she would not hesitate to fulfill her previous statement. So he made the smart choice - he very meekly apologized. As the dark aura receded, he happily went back to his meal, now content with just eating. After both players had finished eating, they both went outside.

"So, what do you intend to do?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, are you going to go farm mobs a bit, sleep, what do you plan to do tomorrow…"

Trailing off, Kirito saw the expression of deep thought that the girl had. Voicing his thoughts, he said, "You don't have any plans do you.", to which he got an answer of "no".

"Well, if you don't have anything you want to do, how about you party up with me for a bit? I might be able to teach you some things and I know where we can find you a better weapon."

"Why?"

"Well, why not?"

"…Fair enough. Send me a request and tomorrow we'll get that rapier you're talking about."

Opening his menu, Kirito went to the "Friends" tab and pressed "Party". Creating a party and then sending an invite to the girl player next to him, he looked up expectantly, waiting for her to push the accept button. As she did so, Kirito saw her HP gauge and username register in his upper-left field of vision.

"_So her name is Asuna…"_

"Well that's done. Bye, fencer-san."

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the house? What are you doing?"

"Coming with you, that's what."

"Why don't you just stay here at the inn?"

"We're in a party now, so I'm going to be following you around. So I'm staying with you."

"Heh, you just want to bath again don't you?"

"No…maybe…well…yeah…"

Laughing, Kirito gestured for his new party member to follow him, walking back to the house.

XxXxXxXx

"Well, here we are, back home. Well, for a couple days anyway."

"What do you mean, a couple days?"

"The second floor of this place is really a quest reward. Once the timer for the quest resets it won't be mine anymore until I finish the quest again."

"Do you intend to get this place again?"

"I guess."

"Ok."

"If you want to come over just to bath it's fine. I'm not going to use it much."

"Alright."

"Anyway, the bedroom is over there. I'll bunk over on the couch for the time being. Night."

"Night."

XxXxXxXx

After making sure that the rapier-wielding girl was asleep, Kirito looked over his stats.

[Lv. 7 (93%) ]

[HP (2250/2250) ]

[Sprint (Lv. 2/1000) ]

[One-Handed Straight Sword (Lv. 13/1000) ]

[Hiding (Lv. 1/1000) ]

[Searching (Lv. 2/1000) ]

[Parry (Lv. 4/1000) ]

[Battle Healing (Lv. 3/1000) ]

[Tracking (Lv. 1/1000) ]

[Strength (STR) – 24 Agility (AGI) – 7 ]

[Dexterity (DEX) - 5 Vitality (VIT) – 7 ]

Checking his equipment as well, Kirito was quite happy with his progress. Lv. 7 two days in with a good sword, armor still in good shape and alive. Deciding to sleep now, Kirito dismissed his menu and plopped down onto the couch, falling asleep almost instantly.


	4. Rondo of the Transient Sword

Chapter 3 – Rondo of the Transient Sword

# Note: _Italics = Thoughts_

_# Note: Remember, the SAO AI (Or the part of the System which deals with it) doesn't use ambushing tactics until about Floor 40-50. Mobs only actively use it until Floors 70+.  
_

_**_I DO NOT OWN SAO. I ONLY OWN THIS WRITING, WHICH IS BASED OFF IT. (ALTHOUGH I WISH I DID OWN IT)_**_

It was a bright morning, the sun shining brilliantly through the world of Aincraid. Birds chirping, cows grazing and Kirito sleeping. The female player residing in his house however, was wide awake and eating some food. She was also noting how peaceful the boy looked when he was asleep – a stark change from his serious face when he was awake. After a few minutes, the boy stirred and woke up, opening his eyes to the world once more. He noted that his companion got up earlier than he did and stood up, yawning as he did so. Walking over to the table and sitting down once more, he opened his menu and materialized a «Black Bread» and a yellow bottle. Seeing that his partner was also eating some bread, still in the cloak he was growing to hate, he said:

"Here. Use some of this."

"What is it?"

"Use it. You'll see."

Tapping on the bottle, the fencer was surprised to see a faint blue glow on her finger. Seeing Kirito gesture towards the bread, she ran her finger down the bread, amazed at the spread that came out.

[Order: Asuna, Kirito]

"Cream?"

"Yep. Take a bite."

Looking at her now creamed bread, she tentatively took a bite. As soon as the food entered her mouth, her first thought was _"I'm in heaven"_. Quickly devouring the rest of the bread, she sighed, wishing she had some more. Patiently waiting for her partner to finish his breakfast, she looked around, taking in her surroundings.

[Order: Kirito, Asuna]

"Ok, you ready to go?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm ready."

"Alright. Today we're gonna go to the «Western Forest». A mob called "Frenzy Wolf" spawns there and the rapier we're looking for is what they sometimes drop."

"Ok."

XxXxXxXx

-Western Forest-

The forest was slightly dark, with sunlight squeezing through the gaps in the tree leaves. Through the low chirping of small insects a low growl could be heard from the distance. Two players, one dressed in a black jacket, the other in a red coat, walked along the meandering path leading into the center of the woods.

[Order: Asuna, Kirito]

"Why aren't any mobs spawning?"

"This game has an intricate system. If your level is higher than a certain number mobs won't spawn, under conditions. For example, since this forest has a level cap of 6, they aren't going to spawn as long as I walk in the front, seeing as my level is higher. Unless of course they spawn behind you."

"What level are you? And how do you know all this stuff anyways?"

"I play a lot of MMO's."

"Level?"

"..."

"Well?"

"Well, while we're walking, I might as well explain how «Switching» works. Basically, we use «Switching» to catch an enemy by surprise with a different fighting style or weapon. If not, we do it so that the player with low health can safely recover. We do this by first making the enemy unable to attack, for example using the «Blade Bash» skill to stun, then call for a switch. The other player then jumps in and starts attacking. That's really all there is to it. Do you understand or do you want me to repeat it again?"

"Change of subject much."

"Do you want me to repeat it or not?"

"No, I understand. How close are we to the center of the forest?"

"Not far. We should be seeing our first wolf soon."

Almost as if Kirito had summoned one with his words, both players registered a cursor in their field of vision. As they focused on it, the name "Frenzy Wolf" appeared.

"All right. First, we'll try doing some «Switching» to practice, just in case an «Event Boss» appears. So, wait for me to engage and stun them. The second I do, rush in and start attacking."

"Wait a bit. What's an event boss?"

"They're a special type of boss that only spawns when you complete a certain...well...anything really."

"Oh. Alright then."

"You don't say much do you?"

"…"

"Alright, get ready."

Carefully walking towards the "Frenzy Wolf" Kirito scanned his screen, making sure that he wouldn't be ambushed. As he neared the wolf, he raised his sword to his hip, activating the skill «Rage Spike», thrusting at its chest and bringing its health down by just a fraction. _"The level difference is 4 and it reduced HP by that little!? This thing is a beast!" _The wolf was undoubtedly strong, barely taking any damage from the poison effect made by his sword. This time. the wolf changed its attack pattern and lunged, surprising Kirito, forcing him to block with the flat of his sword. Calling for a «Switch», he kicked the wolf away from him (which dealt no damage) and blasted it with the «Blade Bash», inflicting a "stun" effect. Hearing his companion rushing towards his direction, he moved out of the way, just in time to see her «Linear» up close. From far away, he couldn't see how fast it was. But up close, the only thing he could relate it to was a meteor. Surpassing the speed set by the sword skill was astounding, but she could do it – a total newbie to MMOs. _"Wow."_ Grinning, Kirito relaxed a bit, watching the amazing speed and gracefulness of her actions. After seeing another red cursor appear in his vision, he said:

"Fencer-san, fight on your own for a bit. More mobs are spawning and we won't be able to switch. Don't take any risks and if you need help gimme a shout."

"Alright."

Turning his attention to the new foe, Kirito waited for it to attack, which it did, lunging. Swiftly sidestepping to the right he slashed at the length of the wolf's body, bringing the HP down by a fraction. Growling, the beast turned around, charging yet again. As Kirito sidestepped again, he cursed as he noticed the wolf on its feet, now clawing him. Getting struck in the chest by three really sharp claws didn't really appeal to the boy so he jumped back, the claws nicking his chest and dropping his HP by but a little. This time taking the initiative, Kirito activated the «Horizontal» skill, creating a deadly arc of blue in the air. It made contact with the wolf, creating a large gash in its face which not only dropped its HP to yellow but also made it look like a lopsided raccoon. After the red gash had disappeared (relatively short time) the wolf ran at him. Prepared for this, Kirito prepared to use «Slant» to send it off balance. As it neared, he activated the skill, slashing diagonally into the space in front of him. Again it hit the wolf in the face, causing the wolf's HP to drop once more, teetering on the edge of the red zone. The next action Kirito half-expected, but was suprised nonetheless. It howled, calling for more wolves to join it, bringing the ratio of wolf to Kirito to about 6:1.

"Well. This is gonna be fun." Grinning, he set off at a run, charging up his next skill with a shout.

XxXxXxXx

Slash. The "Frenzy Wolf" shattered into a multitude of polygons. Panting slightly, he stood up straight again, turning to face his partner.

"So, Fencer-san. You still alive?"

"No."

"Very funny."

"Shut up. Did you find the rapier you were talking about?"

"No. It should be a random drop from the wolves over here, so I guess we were just unlucky. Wanna try again tomorrow?"

"So we're heading back now?"

"Yeah."

"Let me get rid of this last one then."

"Which one?"

He didn't need to ask. With his eyes following his now running companion he spotted the new wolf. Unlike the other wolves which were grey in colour this one had a silver pelt. As he focused on it the name "The Purgatory" appeared. Recognising the "The" in front of the mob name as a hint that the mob was a boss he shouted a warning to his partner, hoping she would react in time. His warning came too late. She had already activated her skill, leaving her in a vulnerable "post-motion" state. The wolf transformed, standing on two legs and boasting two HP bars. It swiped at the player, sending her flying backwards and dropping her HP dangerously close to 0. _"Dammit...don't die...Asuna" _Repeating this sentence in his head over and over like mantra he raised a "Health Potion" to her mouth, telling her to drink. She accepted, holding the bottle in her left hand and drinking slowly.

"Wait until you get back to full health before you start fighting again, no less. I don't want you dying on me."

Not even waiting for her confirmation, he ran at the boss, charging up a skill. Swinging diagonally upwards the «Slant» skill activated, covering the sword in a light-blue glow, knocking the downward swipe aimed at him away and creating a large gash in the boss's chest, marginally dropping its HP. As the wolf swiped again, horizontally this time, Kirito jumped backwards, only to find the boss lunging with one hand, forcing him to sidestep. Slashing again, he saw the wolf try to claw him from behind so he sidestepped again, this time finding a furry tail swinging at him. Quickly activating a sword skill he attacked, cutting the tail off but still only doing minimal damage to the boss. He needed time to think, so he backed off quickly after sending a «Blade Bash» at the boss.

_"Alright. So I can inflict "Limb Loss" to this guy, which has really good stats. Poison doesn't seem to affect it and it hasn't got any sword skills but attacks really fast. So I need to wait for him to attack then I need to aim to cut off one of its arms. Seems easy enough."_

Seeing the wolf lunging again, he positioned himself for a sidestep. Then, realising he wouldn't have enough time to dodge he charged «Slant» again, hoping he could parry the blow. Luckily for him, it did, the resulting clash sending both fighters off balance. Then, a noise was heard, followed by the boss howling in pain. Seeing his partner back on full health and ready to fight, he smiled, saying

"We'll do this with switching ok? Go in to do some damage whenever you see an opportunity. Got it?" _"__Looks like I won't need to aim for the arms then."_

Receiving confirmation, Kirito charged at the mob, which was currently trying to pounce him. Even though he was suprised by this maneuver, he waited calmly for the wolf to near then slashed horizontally with the «Horizontal» skill, leaving a particle effect in the air and creating a red gash in the wolf's torso, HP dropping to 82%. Taking the advantage, he activated «Skill Chain», using the «Uppercut» and «Vertical» skills, resulting in the first HP gauge being two-thirds depleted. Yelling out "Switch", Kirito activated «Blade Bash», stunning the mob again and leaving his partner room to do her work. After three super-fast strikes the wolf had regained control, swiping diagonally downwards towards the fencer. Running in, Kirito blocked the attack with the flat of the blade and swung, knocking the beast off balance once again. The fencer then ran forward, activating the «Linear» skill and finally depleting the first HP gauge, sending the boss into the yellow.

Roaring, it sent out a shockwave, surprising and stunning both the players. As it charged towards the players, Kirito noticed that the eyes had changed in colour to a deep red, most likely indicating that it was now in a "Rage Mode", where it would be much stronger than before. Straining my body to move, he shouted:

"Fencer-san, dodge all of the attacks it aims at you no matter what!"

When the stun finally ended the boss was almost upon the party, bestial eyes looming over them, readying its furred hand for a deadly attack. As the hand glowed blue, Kirito cursed, knowing that it would be a sword skill. After a brief "Get down!" warning he followed his own advice, dropping on all fours and waiting for the attack to pass overhead. After hearing it pass, Kirito jumped up, slashing upwards, sword glowing a pale blue, using the «Uppercut» skill. With the attack doing little damage and seeing the boss readying another attack, Kirito stunned it, yelling for his partner to attack. As she did so, Kirito activated «Skill Chain» yet again, this time chaining «Horizontal Arc» and «Slant», slashing horizontally once and diagonally twice. This combined with the attacks of his partner dropped the boss's HP to about a quarter of its full, which was an emboldening success for the two. As the boss had since recovered from the stun it jumped, pouncing on a new target, the fencer, who was both unready and unsuited to block or dodge. Thankfully, Kirito was, using a «Sprint» skill to cover the distance between the two players the activating «Sonic Leap», jumping into the air after the boss and slashing downwards, forcing it to the ground. As he landed he called for a final attack, seeing the boss HP in the red, readying his sword. Running towards the boss he ducked, dodging the sharp claws that came so close to killing someone, then rose, striking upwards the stunning the mob with «Blade Bash». He backed off, leaving the final sliver of HP to his partner, watching her thrust four times in quick succession, dealing massive damage and ending the fight. Howling, the mob stood erect, before finally shattering into a multitude of polygons. Panting, both quickly dismissed the "Battle Rewards" menu, choosing to rest a bit instead. After regaining his breath, Kirito congratulated his partner on her victory, commenting on her skill.

"Congratulations. You did it."

"Thanks."

"You showed pretty much no overkill today, congratulations. At this rate you'll become really good."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, why not? Even though you're new to this game you just beat an «Event Boss», that's a huge achievement."

"I see."

"So, did you get anything?"

"Oh, right. Let me check."

"Sure."

Manipulating her menu, she accessed her "Recents" and selected "Battle Rewards". Scanning it briefly, she noted that there was a weapon icon. Pressing it, she was greeted with a confirmation window.

[Notice]

Replace (E) "Iron Rapier" with "Wind Fleuret"?

When she pressed "yes" a pale-blue rapier with a rounded hilt materialized in her hands.

(Asuna) _"Beautiful…"_

[Order: Kirito, Asuna]

"Wow. So it was a boss drop after all."

"I take it this is the rapier?"

"Yeah it is."

"Well, we got what we came for, so let's go back. I'm starving!"

"Alright."

"Another thing though. After tonight let's part ways. I have some stuff I needa do on my own and you've done really well, not much I an help you with anymore."

"Alright..."

Noticing the sudden change in mood from victorious to depressed, Kirito stiffened. He didn't like making people feel sad but he had to do it. He intended to become the strongest and the only way to do that was hunt. Dangerously. It was a method he wouldn't encourage anyone else to use so he did it alone.

_"Sorry, fencer-san. Hope we meet again."_

* * *

(A/N) Hey guys! Thanks for reading so far! Please tell me what you liked/didn't like with a review or something! Also feel free to gimme some ideas! Constructive criticism - :)


	5. Author Statement

This story has been discontinued for a while now, a year I think? (Probably less). Anyway, this story seems to be getting more traffic than my newer, updated, better-quality 'remake' [Buredo no Sekai], so I was wondering if anyone who actually reads this (thank-you very much for doing so, btw) wants this story to continue being written. PM me or something and if enough 'good things' happen then I'll start up the story again.

Thanks :D

-Solar0110


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